West Exe School has hosted the annual Ted Wragg Trust Aspire Conference this month.  

The conference brings together Year 10 and Year 11 students from secondary schools across the Ted Wragg Trust with around 100 young people attending this November’s event designed to inspire their aspirations for the future.  This was a remarkable number of attendees, especially as the event was held during half term.

Students were invited to attend based on their academic promise, as the Aspire Conference is designed to help them expand their goals, explore new opportunities, and inspire them to aim high in their personal and academic journeys.

The full-day event consisted of talks from inspirational speakers and workshops challenging the students with interactive tasks and challenges.  Workshops and speakers ranged from MED Theatre,  a developmental community theatre organisation based on Dartmoor who came along to offer drama workshops to a session from Law with Cartridges, a solicitors offering personal and business legal advice in Exeter, who came to speak to attendees about a career in law.  As well as maths challenges led by the prestigious Exeter Maths School and workshops on the value of philosophy and how to develop critical thinking skills from Pamela De Gregorio, a Philosophy and Religious Studies Lecturer at Exeter College.  

Julie Fossey, Headteacher at West Exe School said:

“It was an honour to host this year’s Aspire Conference at West Exe School.  It was so inspiring to see how much the students took away from the day and how excited they were to tackle the academic challenges our guests had set for them.”

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Trust said:

“At the Ted Wragg Trust we work hard to provide opportunities to young people that will inspire them to unleash their full potential.  Our annual Aspire Conference is just one of the ways we encourage students to aim high when planning their next steps and considering their future education and career choices. Thanks to West Exe for hosting a wonderful conference”